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Sprint Weekend
FP115h 2m
Lewis Hamilton says he believes Ferrari can close the gap to Mercedes as the team continues its development push, with what he described as a âfirst little stepâ arriving this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "Everyone is under a huge amount of pressure to bring parts, as every team is, but we are going in the right direction with the car. Obviously Mercedes are still the leaders, McLaren are now up in there and obviously Red Bull are super quick â four teams that are all very close. But we just focus on doing our job the best we can... We've just got to continue to try and close the gap, which I really do believe we can. I don't think we're too far away."
Liam Lawson says he found out he was being called up to Red Bull for this weekendâs Dutch Grand Prix as soon as he landed in the UK, after a phone call from Alan Permane. Lawson said: "I literally landed, I hadn't even got off the plane. I had come from basically being on break and landed in the UK for what I thought was going to be obviously VCARB prep. Alan [Permane] called me and basically he told me what was going on. So then my week changed pretty quickly."
Liam Lawson says driving a Red Bull at the Dutch Grand Prix as a stand-in for Isack Hadjar will feel âvery foreignâ, with only one practice session available on the Sprint weekend after spending 2026 in a Racing Bulls car. Lawson said: "At least the power unit is the same, so that's one thing that should hopefully help things, but in terms of the car itself, they're completely different, so that's going to be for sure a challenge. It's just the nature of a Sprint weekend having one practice session... it's probably going to feel very foreign. I'm sure it's going to be quite tough."
Max Verstappen says he wants to finish his Formula 1 career with Red Bull because he feels happy in the team and does not see the point in changing âjust to changeâ, after signing a contract extension to stay until the end of 2030. Verstappen said: "I like it here. I think it would be a great story if that would be possible like that, being picked up by Red Bull and finishing your career within one team. Because I don't feel the need to change just to change, and I don't necessarily need to drive in another colour. My favourite colour is blue, so that helps! But, yeah, it would be, of course, an amazing story if that would happen."
Yuki Tsunoda says he was âdyingâ to get back on the Formula 1 grid after being sidelined for the 2026 season, as he prepares to race for Racing Bulls at the Dutch Grand Prix. Tsunoda said: "It was a very unexpected thing. I'm actually quite calm and looking forward to tomorrow. I mean, I can't be sad. It was a moment I was waiting for, and I was dying to have this kind of moment."
Liam Lawson says he is not focused on any âriskâ in returning to Red Bull after being called up to replace Isack Hadjar, who injured his wrist during the summer break. Lawson said: "In terms of it maybe being a risk, I don't know... it's a unique situation to be in. It's been a great year so far in my car, but at the same time, I'm excited for the opportunity this weekend to drive something different, to be back with this team, even if it's for just a weekend."
Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkowski says the team is still in a âlearning phaseâ and needs more laps to address reliability glitches, after replacing Graeme Lowdon at the head of the new Formula 1 outfit. Budkowski said: "Yes, there are glitches. Yes, there are reliability issues that maybe are not the level you expect from a Formula 1 team. But there's a huge complexity in some areas, and the brake area is one of them. It's one of these situations when you fix one thing, something else goes wrong, and you learn as you as you do it. It's painful. At this stage, we're really in the learning phase. We need the mileage, we need the laps to get as much learning as possible."
George Russell says he wants to stop overthinking and drive more instinctively in the second half of the season as he tries to close the gap to Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the championship fight. Russell said: "The last three races were tough for different reasons. Looking forward to starting again and looking to get back into a good groove. I want to not overthink it, trust in my ability and drive a little more instinctively. That's maybe what I wasn't doing before the break."
Valtteri Bottas said âsomething needed to changeâ at Cadillac after the team released Graeme Lowdon and replaced him with new team principal Marcin Budkowski, a switch he said the drivers had little notice of. Bottas said: "I think something needed to change. Some issues we've had have been just dragging along. But I didn't maybe quite expect such a big, big change. I was maybe expecting more stuff happening in the factory. Some of these things, we as drivers don't see what needs to be changed sometimes when it comes to big things, because we're obviously very focused on the driving, on the performance, on giving our feedback."
Carlos Sainz said he has signed a Williams contract extension because he âbelieve[s] in the projectâ and does not want to âjump ships when the situation is also at its worstâ, despite describing this season as a âperfect stormâ in which Williams produced a car âlate⌠overweight and⌠without downforceâ. Williams confirmed this week that Sainz and Alex Albon will remain with the team for 2027. Albon, whose announcement only referenced 2027, suggested he wants to see a âstrong bounce back from this yearâ before committing further, adding: âI want to see a reaction, I want to see what the team can deliver.â
Lewis Hamilton says Max Verstappenâs decision to extend his Red Bull contract until 2030 is ânot a bad choiceâ, adding that his long-time rival is already in a âreally amazing placeâ to work. Hamilton said: "I think he's with a great team. He's been with them a long, long time, and they just keep going from strength to strength. It's a really amazing place to be and to work, clearly. So, when you look at the history of drivers that do move around, there are some drivers that have moved a crazy amount, and sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. But obviously, these are things to always stay where you're comfortable, and that's his choice, and it's not a bad choice."
Charles Leclerc says Ferrari could benefit from a âreshuffleâ in the competitive order at Zandvoort, despite the Dutch Grand Prix circuit not historically suiting the team. Leclerc said: "I mean it's true, historically it's not been a particularly strong track for us. At the same time these cars are so different that I think it can reshuffle a little bit the packing order or the teams that had more easiness on this kind of tracks and at the same time it's also a track layout that is quite technical and normally technical tracks are a bit more positive for us this year. So I'm still optimistic but we've got to wait and see."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari have to keep âapplying the pressureâ to championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with the Mercedes driver 50 points ahead as Formula 1 returns at this weekendâs Dutch Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "I'm not really looking at any weaknesses because I don't think he has shown any this season. I think we've got to just work hard to just continue to apply the pressure."
Lando Norris says the âbiggest factorâ giving him confidence about McLarenâs chances of fighting at the front in the second half of the season is the team itself and its leadership. Norris said: "What are the factors? McLaren is the team I'm with. That's the biggest factor. The people we have, what we've achieved over the last few years and the leadership we have within the team, from, I guess, part of it from myself, but also from Andrea [Stella], from Zak [Brown], the team leaders within McLaren. Just everyone's in a very, very good mindset at the minute, and in the mindset you need and you have to have to fight against the best in the world, in terms of all the teams and drivers, and to fight for World Championships."
Gabriel Bortoleto says his dream in Formula 1 is to stay with Audi for the long term, even talking about a possible 15-year partnership. Bortoleto said: "That would be the dream. If we stay 15 years together, it means the partnership between me and Audi has worked in an incredible way. I always have been the type of guy, since go-karting, that my dream was always to stay with one team, if possible. Hopefully, I can do this with Audi."
Valtteri Bottas says âtime will tellâ whether Cadillac have made the right call by replacing Graeme Lowdon with Marcin Budkowski as team principal. Bottas said: "Like with any change, time will always tell what change is good, what change is bad. So I can't predict the future. But I've only, like I said, I don't know Marcin yet that well. I haven't worked with him in the past. I've worked with Graeme quite a bit in the past. And it's just a personal relationship. But yeah, time will tell."
Fernando Alonso says he has not yet decided whether he wants to keep racing in Formula 1 next season, with his Aston Martin contract due to expire at the end of the current campaign. Alonso said: "I feel fast, I feel motivated but, honestly, I didn't think about my future until I entered now the room here. My head is completely into this weekend, not in the future. I understand the attention can be more into the future, but it's not my biggest priority now."
Lando Norris says McLaren might not have won its recent titles if he had not obeyed team orders to let Oscar Piastri win the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. Norris said: "100 percent. The team wouldn't be the same as they are now. Probably wouldn't have won the Constructors' for the last two years, which probably means we wouldn't have won the Drivers' Championship. I wouldn't have won the Drivers' Championship last year; that's how easy it is for things to go wrong in Formula 1."
Jos Verstappen says Max Verstappenâs new Red Bull contract extension, which commits him to the team until at least the end of the 2030 season, includes undisclosed âagreementsâ. Jos Verstappen said: "That is something the team will have to take care of. Naturally, agreements have been made regarding this in the contract. We know what those agreements are, and Red Bull knows, and we are not going to broadcast them."
Max Verstappen says it feels âabsolutely rightâ to continue at Red Bull after recommitting to the team with a deal until 2030, pointing to an open relationship with new team principal Laurent Mekies and discussions about the teamâs future direction. Verstappen said: "From the start, the relationship has been really, really good, very open and transparent. That's why I think also from my side to make up my mind was just about exactly that: about the future, some strategic decisions as well within the team. For me, it feels absolutely right to continue here. And I always said, and I said this when Dietrich [Mateschitz] was still alive, I said, my goal and target is to finish my career in this team."
Yuki Tsunoda says he got an unexpected call on Tuesday telling him he might race at Zandvoort for Racing Bulls, after Isack Hadjar injured his wrist during the summer break. Tsunoda said: "I was with my manager and also other friends in Greece. I was on the beach. I just suddenly got a call, 'OK, you have to go to the UK.' I said, 'Why?' - 'Maybe you might race this week.'"
George Russell says his Mercedes seat never felt under threat from Max Verstappen after the Dutchman ended speculation over his future by signing a contract extension with Red Bull until 2030. Russell said: "Drivers talk with different teams, teams talk with different drivers. Everyone has to just see what their cards are. But my seat never felt under threat, and I felt 100 per cent security with Toto and the team, and that obviously now continues."
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